Over the course of a year five babies arrive at the Little Tulip Orphanage in Amsterdam. The Little Tulip doesn't that sound delightful - of course it is not! Each arrival breaks one or more of the three rules set my matron Elinora Gassbeek. Wait a minute. Look at that name. Grassbeek. Sounds bad? Yes she is! Now back to those rules:
RULE ONE: The baby should be wrapped in a cotton blanket.
RULE TWO: The baby should be placed in a wicker basket.
RULE THREE: The baby should be deposited on the topmost step.
So what about our five babies.
Lotta arrives in a toolbox which has been wrapped in an emerald green ribbon
"a baby with coca-bean eyes and blonde fuzz on its head."
Egg (Egbert) arrives in a coal bucket wrapped in a soot-stained shawl
"A raven-haired infant... "
Fenna is found in the matrons picnic basket along with the sandwiches and almond cake
"It had a shock of curly red hair and was babbling incessantly."
Sem comes in a bucket wearing a wheat sack
"She looked at the baby's wonky ears, its gangly limbs and the wheat-coloured hair that stuck out from its head at the unruliest of angles."
Milou is found on the roof inside a coffin-shaped basket along with a cat puppet
"It had hair as dark as midnight and eyes that were almost black."
Are you wondering about those names. I won't go into the details here but they are all the invention of Matron serving to emphasise the nastiness of her character. What you do need to know is that each of these children is blessed with a special talent such as mathematics, engineering, knot tying, sewing, map making, cooking and an affinity with animals. Milou has a fragment of information about her own family and she is desperate to find her parents who she is sure are out there somewhere looking for her.
When the group of kids escape from the orphanage they use this scrap of information having fled the matron and an evil man called Meneer Rotman who says he wants to adopt all of them but who is clearly planning something truly awful. Milou has over-heard the matron and Rotman talking:
"Then we have a deal, Matron. In return of a steady supply of orphans each year, I will provide you with coin and rid this place of vermin: both the rodent variety and the urchins you can't shift."
So now the kids are on the run. Where they go, who they meet and the way each of their talents are needed is thrilling. This story is a wild roller coaster ride. I am certain you will not anticipate the ending. When and if you need further reason to read this book pick it up and read chapters 28 to 30.
I especially loved the wonderful character descriptions:
Here is Matron Gassbeek - so many delicious words here:
Her "boots emerged a moment before the rest of her: twin points of polished, blood-red leather, with low, pointed heels, that were just as sharp as the expression on the matron's face ... (she had) the brutal sneer of a gargoyle, the soulless eyes of a werewolf, the skin itching screech of a banshee ... her vileness had transformed her features into something monstrous."
Meneer Rotman Have you noticed the name - Rotman (yes he is rotten!).:
"His face was half covered by a huge mustachio, which erupted from under his nose in two long curls and spread out towards his mutton chop whiskers. There were rings on almost every finger and a long tobacco pipe hung from his mouth." His smile was a parody "all teeth and no soul." His laugh "like a seagull cawing."
A little shiver ran up my spine this morning when I saw an announcement that it is only eight days until The Unadoptables hits the shops! SO grab your order form, email your local bookseller, lobby your local and school library NOW because you are really going to ENJOY this wonderful new book.
Here is a web site for Hana Tooke with a terrific book trailer. I am also including the cover of the Advanced Reader copy which Beachside Bookshop kindly supplied earlier this year. You might be interested to see how covers evolve. My copy of this book only had draft illustrations. You can see the art here by Ayesha Rubio.
Aspects of this book reminded me of A series of Unfortunate Events. I would also link The Unadoptables with these books:
For a younger audience take a look at The Dunderheads:
Kirkus review: The plot is deliciously outlandish
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